Why did the Trump Admin Remove Israel from a Video on the Upcoming Middle East Trip?

Washington, D.C. – The National Jewish Democratic Council today blasted the administration of President Donald Trump for removing any mention of Israel from a, now deleted, video posted by the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia that announces the president’s trip to the region later this month. Trump will be visiting Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican in his first foreign trip as president. NJDC released the following statement, demanding answers:

It’s shocking to learn that a video was posted of President Donald Trump’s announcement of his trip to the region later this month which omitted naming Israel as part of that trip. While the video has now been deleted, damage has already been done. To make sure this doesn’t happen again, the administration must explain how this happened and what will be done to ensure that this sort of thing won’t happen again.

Just one week after his vice president hosted a reception celebrating the 69th anniversary of the independence of “America’s most cherished ally, the Jewish state of Israel,” his administration chose to literally cut the word Israel out of the president’s mouth in a video for consumption in Saudi Arabia. That’s no way to treat such a cherished ally. Although the video was recently deleted, the Trump administration must answer the question of why it happened in the first place.